Folding phones need to make these five changes to be accepted by the public

As we all know, the global smartphone market has entered a stage of saturation and decline, and the homogeneity and lack of innovation of smartphones are also one of the reasons for the market downturn. In this context, foldable phones have emerged, and the smartphone industry hopes that foldable phones can become a catalyst to re-stimulate consumption. Among them, Samsung Electronics released its second foldable phone at the beginning of this month, and it is reported that the company will iterate and upgrade the first one in the middle of the year.

Recently, an American financial media published an analytical article, pointing out some changes that need to be made before foldable phones can win the favor of every consumer.

Earlier this week, I took a look at Samsung Electronics Co.’s latest phone with a folding screen, the Galaxy Z Flip. It’s a simple design, but it’s still a swaggering gadget that costs $1,380. Most people would be better off saving hundreds of dollars and buying a regular Galaxy S10, iPhone 11 or any other traditional smartphone.

I still think that, eventually, we'll all probably be carrying smartphones with foldable screens, especially since they promise to combine the advantages of both phones and large-screen tablets in one gadget. But before we get there, some things need to change. Here are a few elements that will help them go mainstream.

Durability

The biggest problem with foldable phones right now is durability.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Flip is the most durable foldable phone yet because it has some glass elements for added rigidity, but it still has a very fragile plastic layer over the screen. If the plastic layer is damaged by something as simple as poking it with a fingernail, the entire screen can break, which is probably what happened to our Galaxy Fold last year.

Most regular phones have Corning's Gorilla Glass, which won't shatter if you poke it too hard. I don't know how we'll get there, but once screens are better protected, it'll be easier to recommend foldable phones.

price

Foldable phones are still too expensive. Samsung Electronics' first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, is already on sale for $1,980. The Galaxy Z Flip costs $1,380, and the Motorola RAZR foldable phone sold by operator Verizon costs $1,500.

Apart from the folding screen, most of the functions and performance of foldable phones are basically similar to those of traditional glass-screen smartphones, or even slightly worse.

But folding screens require a new manufacturing process that is not as mature as glass screens. I think as companies like Samsung Electronics figure out how to make them cheaper, the prices of these foldable phones will drop and they will become more attractive to average consumers.

design

Current foldable phone designs don’t offer many benefits to users. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Flip folds into a thick square that might be better for people with small pockets, but I don’t see any other real benefits to the design.

The Galaxy Fold has a nice big 7-inch display, similar to a tablet, but the outer screen is too small to use when the phone is folded.

But if we can develop a very thin foldable phone that opens up to be a regular phone, or a foldable phone that looks like a regular phone but opens up to be like a larger tablet, then they might be more attractive.

Currently, foldable phone batteries are very bulky and heavy, and they need to become thinner so that manufacturers can make foldable phones with thinner profiles.

apple

Ultimately, I think Apple needs to get involved and help bring phones with foldable displays into the mainstream.

Many companies do this earlier than Apple, but the changes they make usually don't catch on until Apple comes along and does it better.

For example, before Apple’s first mobile phone, the iPhone, came out in 2007, there were many brands of smartphones on the market, such as Blackberry, Palm, and Motorola, but Apple perfected the design and ushered in a new era of mobile phones.

Plus, tablets existed before the Apple iPad, but no one bought them until Apple showed us what they meant as portable computers.

Apple has a group of enthusiastic users who already have iPhones, and if there is no way to run the same software they are accustomed to (i.e. the iOS app ecosystem) on the current foldable phone, they may not buy it for the time being.

I don't know what Apple will do, but we also don't know what Apple will do before the iPhone or iPad to change the industry. Maybe it finds a way to eliminate wrinkles. Maybe it creates a product with better design. Either way, if Apple enters the market, Samsung Electronics will also benefit because it is Apple's screen supplier.

Time accumulation

All of this will take time. Folding screens are still in their infancy. Samsung has done a good job of proving that people can buy new gadgets that were once just science fiction.

Samsung's devices will only get better with each new iteration. Over time, prices will drop, screens will get more durable and sturdy, and devices will get thinner.

But until those changes happen, the only people who will buy products with folding screens will be the same kind of people who like high-end sports cars: people who want to buy rare and expensive products, and they are a niche group.